Florence and Sienna

The weather has been absolutely ridiculous this past week. We have been experiencing rain, snow, ice! Apparently this is the most snow that Rome has seen in 26 years, just my luck right? Anyway, I escaped the snow storm that engulfed Rome this past weekend and instead went north to the equally freezing, but not snowy cities of Florence and Sienna. While in Florence, I had the opportunity to go on 2 guided walking tours. The first day, our group was escorted to The Academia, where we saw Michelangelo's famous David and some of his unfinished statues, Giambologna's Rape of the Sabines, and Botticelli's Madonna and Child and Madonna of the Sea. The next day we had a tour of a Uffizi Gallery, which was absolutely beautiful. Along the way we learned all about the Medici family in Florence who kept some of the most amazing works of art in their collections. My favorite painting was The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. I know I have said it before about the Roman ruins, but seeing these works of art that are centuries old is absolutely spectacular in person. I remember looking at photographs in art history classes, but the paintings in real life are magnificent! 
The night-life in Florence is also quite a lot of fun. I had a great time going out to some different clubs and bars around the town. Again like Rome, the bars get crowded around 12:45 and don't close until 4 or 5 am! 
The food in Florence and Sienna was my favorite in Italy so far! My favorite meal was a soup called pappa al pomodoro, which is a tomato bread soup. Just like every other meal in Italy, it was delicious. I also really enjoyed a soup called ribollita, which is a vegetable bread soup served with olive oil. The desserts in Florence were also top-notch. My favorite one was a richiarelli, which is a type of almond cookie. They could be found all over Florence and Sienna.


Ciao!
Josie xx


Here are some pictures from my trip :) 
Florence:

Sienna: